Guldasta is a word of Urdu origin meaning bouquet of flowers. Flowers have always had their place in South Asian art, but they were perhaps never as prominent as in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Flowering plants increasingly appeared everywhere—as ornamental patterns in the margins of miniatures or calligraphy; adorning walls as murals; printed, woven, or embroidered on textiles; carved into jade or rock crystal cups or flasks; forged from metal, pearls, and precious stones on jewelry and weapons.
This pendant is inspired by Mughal jewelry—a marriage of Indian intricacy and Middle Eastern elegance, uniting Indian gold work with Middle Eastern floral designs.
